For the first time ever in CIPLC's 20 or so years of history and athletic competitions, a strong and resilient group of high school girls has won FIRST place in the national VANAS soccer tournament!
Jesenia Duque, Alazne Egues, Veronica Guerra, Maria Jose Martinez, Kalile Escala, Andrea Scire, Samantha Rodriguez, Ambar Casado, Andrea Martinez, Dana El Ghoul, Stephanie Acosta, Vanessa Duque, Diana El Ghoul, and myself, Luisania Brito, have come back to Puerto La Cruz with a gold medal hanging with pride from our necks. Of course, we couldn't have done it without Coach Richard and Coach Spolar.
We knew we were going to win before we got there.
Just kidding, we wish it would've been that easy. Last year we ended in fourth place after qualifying at 1st in the round robin. Thankfully for us, this year there was one less team and one less day of playing, so the entire tournament was shaped differently.
The round robin had only three games, where we won the first two calmly against home team EBV and Caracas' ECA. However, Valencia-CICV was a whole other story. Even though we dominated the match for the most part, extra time was added to end the game in a 4-4 tie. Nonetheless, we still qualified in first place for the semifinals. The game against ECA on Friday was also under control, and the final match against Valencia was one of pure emotion and nerves. In the end we were able to scream and celebrate victorious with a score of 3-0. The mighty Geckos are now the proud and unbeaten VANAS HS Girls Soccer Champions!
Luckily for the team, there were no major injuries or troubles - unlike the boys who had a couple of flat tires (or flat knees I should say). The experience and grit of the starters plus the depth and motivation of the bench made our squad wholesome and unbeatable.
During the weekend, we also celebrated Coach Spolar's and Diana's birthdays. After going to a nearby fast food restaurant for laughs and "patacones" we sung Happy Birthday and ate some delicious cake by the hotel pool. By the way, Maracaibo is one hot city; the sun and the heat are absolutely ruthless.
As a graduating senior, it is extremely blissful to be able to leave the school having made history. After all, our class slogan is "We'll Make History!" My classmates Vero and Majo, along with myself, can say that there is no greater joy than participating in the team that won the first gold for CIPLC. However, this has been a year of records, where we also won VANAS Volleyball, and where the boys have had a perfect record just like the girls. The 2014-2015 sports season has been a great success, and CIPLC is showing no signs of slowing down in the upcoming years.
Luisania Brito
Jesenia Duque, Alazne Egues, Veronica Guerra, Maria Jose Martinez, Kalile Escala, Andrea Scire, Samantha Rodriguez, Ambar Casado, Andrea Martinez, Dana El Ghoul, Stephanie Acosta, Vanessa Duque, Diana El Ghoul, and myself, Luisania Brito, have come back to Puerto La Cruz with a gold medal hanging with pride from our necks. Of course, we couldn't have done it without Coach Richard and Coach Spolar.
We knew we were going to win before we got there.
Just kidding, we wish it would've been that easy. Last year we ended in fourth place after qualifying at 1st in the round robin. Thankfully for us, this year there was one less team and one less day of playing, so the entire tournament was shaped differently.
The round robin had only three games, where we won the first two calmly against home team EBV and Caracas' ECA. However, Valencia-CICV was a whole other story. Even though we dominated the match for the most part, extra time was added to end the game in a 4-4 tie. Nonetheless, we still qualified in first place for the semifinals. The game against ECA on Friday was also under control, and the final match against Valencia was one of pure emotion and nerves. In the end we were able to scream and celebrate victorious with a score of 3-0. The mighty Geckos are now the proud and unbeaten VANAS HS Girls Soccer Champions!
Luckily for the team, there were no major injuries or troubles - unlike the boys who had a couple of flat tires (or flat knees I should say). The experience and grit of the starters plus the depth and motivation of the bench made our squad wholesome and unbeatable.
During the weekend, we also celebrated Coach Spolar's and Diana's birthdays. After going to a nearby fast food restaurant for laughs and "patacones" we sung Happy Birthday and ate some delicious cake by the hotel pool. By the way, Maracaibo is one hot city; the sun and the heat are absolutely ruthless.
As a graduating senior, it is extremely blissful to be able to leave the school having made history. After all, our class slogan is "We'll Make History!" My classmates Vero and Majo, along with myself, can say that there is no greater joy than participating in the team that won the first gold for CIPLC. However, this has been a year of records, where we also won VANAS Volleyball, and where the boys have had a perfect record just like the girls. The 2014-2015 sports season has been a great success, and CIPLC is showing no signs of slowing down in the upcoming years.
Luisania Brito